Flexible bottle cap opener



2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 3, 1963 INVENTOR. flaw/s r #54 BL //VG BY w w ATTORNEY S P 1965 A. HELBLING 3,206,055

FLEXIBLE BOTTLE CAP OPENER Filed Sept. 3, 1963 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 J INVENTOR. 41/61/57 A ZBL/A G BY M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,206,055 FLEXIBLE BOTTLE CAP OPENER August Helbling, 275 E. 168th St., New York, N.Y. Filed Sept. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 306,363 1 Claim. (Cl. 215-46) This application relates to a novel bottle cap which may be opened without the use of a conventional bottle opener.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel bottle cap which is easily manufactured and assembled and which eliminates the necessity of using a separate bottle opener.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an attachment for use with a conventional bottle cap which is to be assembled between the cap and the bottle and is so formed as to easily remove the bottle cap by a manual operation without using a conventional bottle opener.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of this invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of my invention showing the top of the bottle, the bottle cap and an attachment between the cap and the bottle top;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along the plane of the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing the center vertical section of the attachment;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the attachment;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view along the horizontal plane of lines 33 of FIGURE 1 showing the position of the attachment within the cap;

FIGURE 5 illustrates the cap in the partial state of removal;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating a different embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 4 illustrat'ing another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURES 8a and 8b are side and top views respectively of still another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating yet another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES l and 2 which may be considered simultaneously, there is shown a conventional bottle 1 such as a soda bottle having a conventional bottle cap 2. Cap 2 is shown to be clamped or crimped tightly to the uppermost part or bead 1 of the bottle.

Inserted between the top of the bottle and the bottle cap is a tab or attachment 3. The main body of this attachment (shown also in FIGURES 3 and 4) has a center section 6 having approximately the same dimensions as the surface defined by the circumference of the top of the bottle. Although shown to be circular, section 6 may, of course, assume a configuration which departs somewhat therefrom. As illustrated, section 6 has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the bottle top. A second and surrounding portion 5 is formed integrally with the center section 6 and forms the flange of the attachment when in the assembled condition as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Flange portion 5 is clamped by the flange of the bottle cap against the bead of the bottle top.

This attachment also has an extension 3 resembling a tail which gradually fairs inwardly from the outer perimeter of attachment 6 and narrows until reaching the lowermost portion 4 at which time it fairs out laterally about a center section so as to form two adjacent gripping arms, resembling an inverted T. In this shape, the ex tension of the attachment contacts the cap at a greater surface and transfers greater removal force when the extension is pulled upwardly. Strength may be imparted to gripping section 4 by any conventional means and as shown in FIGURE 2, the material may be rolled over a number of times to form an enlarged section.

The material of which the attachment is formed is a high-strength flexible material. It may be a high-strength plastic, such as, e.g. an acetal resin, known as Delrin which has a well-recognized, high-tensile strength, a plastic laminate, a plastic impregnated cloth or a highstrength fabric which may be formed of filaments of highstrength plastic. Also, the attachment may be formed of a flexible metal such as tin.

Although a cork 8 is shown in FIGURE 4 underlying the attachment, the attachment may have a permanent set or recess along a circular region indicated in FIGURE 3 by dotted lines. This set may have similar dimensions as the cork. This set provides accurate positioning in the top of a bottle and independent seating therein. If desired, the cork may be eliminated.

In order to remove the bottle cap it is only necessary to pull the transverse arms 4 and lift the attachment upwardly and outwardly while holding the bottle. Because of the length of the extension 3, leverage is provided to facilitate removal of the cap.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 6, the attachment is formed of a metal such as tin. The extending or tail section 14 is substantially rectangular in shape and is provided with a plurality of ribs 15 to facilitate gripping.

In FIGURE 7, the attachment is provided with a relatively wide extension 10 in which an opening 11 is formed through which one or more fingers may pass to provide a handle for gripping.

In FIGURE 8, the center region of the attachment is not circular but has parallel sections and the entire attachment is formed as an endless ribbon 16. Removal in this case is effected by gripping under the uppermost part of the endless attachment 16 and pulling upwardly.

The embodiment of FIGURE 9 differs from the preceding embodiments in that the attachment does not have an endless peripheral flange forming section such as has been shown at 5 in connection with FIGURES 2-4. Instead, the attachment, preferably formed of metal as shown also in FIGURE 6, only has a clamping region between the cap and the bottle at the location in which the extension 14 joins the main body 6.

While the foregoing description sets forth the principles of the invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation of the scope of the invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claim.

I claim:

A soda bottle cap adapted for removal from a soda bottle without using a bottle opener, comprising a bottle cap having a substantially circular top and a 3 downwardly extending side, said side being formed for clamping against the bottle top,

a flexible insert attachment formed of high strength material and as an endless ribbon and positioned in said cap adjacent to the undersurface of said cap top,

said ribbon having a section thereof emerging from just under a part of the cap side, the ribbon continuing and returning under said cap at a part, approximately 180 from the emerging section, whereby flange portions of said attachment are formed 180 apart and between said cap side and said bottle top and whereby a continuous gripping loop is formed for cap removal.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Ernst et al. 21546 Reardon 215-46 Reardon 21546 Bloomfield 21546 Powell 21546 PaNiagua 21540 10 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

